Written question asked by Harry Cohen (Labour) on Monday, 30 November 2009, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Wednesday, 2 December 2009. It was answered by Ivan Lewis (Labour) on Tuesday, 8 December 2009 on behalf of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office.

Iraq

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent reports he has received on the number of (a) death sentences imposed by the incumbent Iraqi regime and (b) people sentenced to death who were associated with the previous regime.

Answer: The administration of justice and the punishment of criminal activities in Iraq, including the imposition of the death penalty, is a matter for the elected Government of Iraq. Death sentences have been given to those found guilty of murder or terrorist crimes whether or not they are associated with Saddam Hussein's regime.The Iraqi Human Rights Minister told UK officials recently that about 900 prisoners had been given the death sentence but it was not clear from when these sentences were imposed. The EU has reported that 117 prisoners have been executed this year.The position of the UK and of our EU colleagues towards the use of the death penalty is well known to the Government of Iraq, and we continue to raise our opposition to it regularly.

Secondary information